Mason Man

Our children grow up before our eyes. My son Mason has taught me so much about designing for children in his 18 months of life. It feels like he has grown to this stage overnight and his space and our home has been ever changing since he arrived. I believe I have found a balance to keeping up with a child's ever changing needs and keeping your home at the design aesthetic you prefer. It involves staying aware of your child's developmental stage, foreseeing and becoming the change in your child, participating in play with your child, and staying organized. I am currently working on a real life series of videos that display our life and how we deal with the blessing of growing up with your child. I understand we all live under different circumstance, rentals, owners, organized, and unorganized. My advice is for all and it is practical in any child adult circumstance.
Copy and paste the links below into your web browser, starting with the http:, if you are interested in seeing my current YouTube projects. Enjoy.

Part I http://www.youtube.com/user/CholeMarieStudio?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/xWp4bbPGlr0
Part II http://www.youtube.com/user/CholeMarieStudio?feature=mhum#p/a/u/1/LPjUhj1Y9lI

Set the Stage

Be sure to think of your home as a stage set carefully for the actors who perform on it. Every little detail counts from the arrangement on a side table to the art on the wall. Leave yourself places to set keys, hide wallets and receipts, and stay organized. Or when you go for a prop it will be missing. Is it under the couch? Did I leave it in the car? Is it in the drawer? If you can alleviate some of these questions your life will become easier. A decorative basket for your remote controls and Netflix rentals can be a great asset to your living room. When you go to sit down and relax everything is right there waiting. Oh, looks like "Where the Wild Things Are" tonight. Let me get comfy and turn on everything with my magic basket of remotes. Treat your walls like a gallery. Make sure there is a mixture of content from original artwork to shadow boxes and guitars. Put them on display for your guest enjoyment and close by for your use. Ross, Marshall's, and thrift stores are amazing places to find accents for your home. Pick cultural pieces to give your home a unique look that will stand apart from the norm.

Finding a Good Fit

Finding a Good fit. The Designer Client Relationship.

This one is deep so get your shovel. Beware of the designer ego. The "I'm the designer" ego can kill a project and alienate the client. Pretend you don't know anything, imagine your client knows it all. Listen, don't wait to talk. If your client is talking to you and all you are thinking is... I can't wait to tell them my awesome idea that is so great! How can you hear what they truly need? How can you hear what they are saying? Listening and hearing are very different. If you can hear you are always listening, you can't shut your ears. But you can't be talking to yourself, preparing what you are about to say, and be able to hear what your client is telling you.

For example:

"I love purple pansies and bunny rabbits. What if we painted a mural? Ya! Of little dancing bunnies in a field of purple pansies." Says the client

"Well, what I have been thinking, is that we could use alot of grey tones with white accents. And maybe incorporate hard finishes." Says the designer (aka bunny hater)

Not listening to the client is even more dangerous in a large firm. The game of telephone is set to fail from the begining. The design team never hears of the purple pansies, they only hear shades of grey. So much time waisted, if only there hadn't had been static on the other line.

Now, if the designer had been listening from the begining the answer would have been more like this.

"Oh, how wonderful, we could use shades of purple and green with fluffy textures just like a bunny. I also know a great artist who could create that mural for you."

Ah, positve forward progress. Amazing!

This is a simple example, but my advice is, if your designer can't listen to you, positive forward progress maybe impossible. The designer needs the client. Clients remember why you hired the designer. It was for thier vision. Be sure to reign us in at the first sign we get off track. If you are working with a designer make sure you are consitent in what you want. You may have to tell us purple pansies and bunny rabbits untill we give in. It will keep the cost down and the project moving forward.

Look Up!

PROBLEM:
Do you see popcorn above your head?
I am not sure who thought installing ceilings with texture was a good idea, but they attacked America. This stuff is everywhere. In the homes of good people, creating static. Get rid of it. Any way you can. It could be toxic and contain asbestos, depending on when it was installed.

ADVICE:
I would hire a contractor to lay in new ceilings. While you are at it, I would put in new lighting. Dimmer's everywhere. Fluorescent, or LED fixtures are most energy efficient.
OUT OF LOVE:
Beware of the blue light of the fluorescent. It will make your house feel cool. If you use a fluorescent light, paint cool colors. Also beware! Make sure to buy dimmers that correspond to the light source. A Fluorescent light needs a fluorescent dimmer...etc. Be most weary of this on ceiling fans. It also takes a moment for a fluorescent light to dim so be patient. You are safe with incandescent light, it is more similar to sunlight. Easy dimming and warm light.

Ha! That reminded me of a an amazing moment. I was doing CA on Children's Health care of Atlanta, and two walls were painted different colors on either side of a long corridor. The reflection on one against the other changed them both entirely. This color also changed in natural light and rooms with sunlight. Lesson learned, test your colors under the source of light that they will be brought to life by. There are colors that change less under different light sources...but I can't reveal all my secrets. :)

For those crazy do-it-yourself people:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWmmjPhC5R4

Patients Have a Choice

These photos are from the Piedmont Neuroscience Center here in Atlanta. I worked on this project with Architect, Marisabel Marratt, during my time at Stanley Beaman Sears .

This high-tech, trendsetting environment, is an amazing achievement in Health care design. How many times have you been to the doctor and felt trapped, in a tiny room, with no window? Here the patient is given a great view of the outside, a warm accent wall, and a simple floor pattern, to put them at ease. Doctors seem to run on their own time. This space captures the patient's attention and distracts them from watching the clock. I have learned from experience, and my mentors at Stanley Beaman Sears, that a doctor's office should reflect the standard of care they give. Patients have a choice. Stains on the floor and chipped laminate are a sign of poor maintenance. If a medical practice can't maintain their space, how can you trust them to maintain your health? I am speaking from personal experience. While looking for an OBGYN during my pregnancy, I switched from a practice in Gwinnett to a practice in Atlanta. The practice in Gwinnett had stains everywhere, tiny exam rooms, and appeared extremely cluttered. The office in Atlanta was warm and inviting, with a view of nature. It was worth the drive for peace of mind during my pregnancy.

Capture Cherished Memories

The shadow box is an easy way to capture cherished memories.

Go to Micheal's, or your local craft store, and purchase a shadow box. Select one of your favorite photo's and place it in the center. Think back to the moment you are trying to capture, and add whatever you like that symbolizes that moment.

For example:

The top shadow box was made for my son Mason. His ultrasound is the heart of it all and it is accented by two needle points my mother did for me when I was a baby. You will also see a dollar bill with the word "boy." My husband received this as change when we first got pregnant, before we even knew Mason's sex. Incredible!

The second shadow box captures our Honeymoon to Hawaii. It is a tiny pillow case filled with "Aloha!" Little palm and banana trees set the scene for the Luau going on front and center. This box also incorporates lava rock and shells from the beach. I have been advised, by all who have traveled to Hawaii, that it is bad luck to bring back lava rock. I always tell them I asked the beautiful god of the volcano, if I could just have a little, and she said of course. No bad luck for me.

The Power of a Shower Curtain.

Do not underestimate the power of a shower curtain. It is a low budget fix that can bring life to any bathroom. A high contrast organic pattern, like the one shown above, demands all the attention. It says "This bathroom is nice!" It can be found at Target for $26.99. Go to www.target.com and search: Dwell Studio for Target® Floral Block Shower Curtain - Brown (72x72").

Also, when you are unloading all your extra things to charity, be sure to re purpose the good things you find. For example, storage is a real struggle in this bathroom . So, a decorative vintage box is used to store makeup and is only brought out when necessary. The same with the toothbrush holder, it was sitting in a corner collecting dust. Now it is center stage.